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J erry Jeanmard picked up more than a few endur- ing design pointers from legendary decorator Her- bert Wells, with whom he worked side by side from 1984 until Well's death in 2010. Chief among them was how to create sophisticated interiors for Houston's upper crust that are as unas- suming as they are beautiful. "'Preten- tious' was the worst thing you could say about a room," Jeanmard says. "When I first went to work for Wells, I got a phone call from a wealthy — and now favorite — client. She was ready to change out the slipcovers for her house. I always thought that was charming. It's unpretentious, and it made a big impression." With Wells, Jeanmard orchestrated refined interiors for such bastions as the River Oaks and Houston Coun- try Clubs and Rice University's Wiess House. When Wells died, Jeanmard took up the mantle. Unerringly polite and soft-spoken, he seamlessly and with little fuss got on with the business of doing up their clients' John Staub- and Howard Barnstone-designed grand River Oaks homes and Memorial and Tanglewood sprawling split-levels. Two years ago, Jeanmard sold the company to Lauren Hudson but is still working with the firm and continues to do design work for the children and grandchildren of some of his original clients. The easier pace has allowed Jeanmard and his partner, Cliff Helmcamp — a real estate agent with Greenwood King — a rare chance to focus on designing their own home. "The purpose of us building some- thing was to be in a one-story house. It's that time in our lives when convenience is important," says Jeanmard, who had previously lived in a three-level town- house. They chose a lot in the Museum District with a 1930s cottage, which was carefully dismantled and donated to Habitat for Humanity. For their new residence, they enlisted help from an architect Jeanmard had worked with over the years, Dillon Kyle of Dillon Kyle Architects, who was joined by builder Conor Thompson of Southland Homes of Texas. Naturally, Jeanmard was the project designer. "It was stress free, and we all got along really well, which is not always the case between designer and architect," he says. With this house, teamwork prevailed. The couple's new modern cottage fea- tures a standing-seam metal roof, simple detailing and millwork, and is tailored precisely to the couple's preferences. A single-level structure with master bed- room, living, and kitchen areas for the couple's easy movement includes a two- story guest wing for visiting children and grandchildren. Helmcamp came up with a genius plan to put a hidden trap door behind the master closet for easy access into the laundry room. They embraced an open-plan kitchen and did away with the dining room. "Every- one always gathers in the kitchen, so it makes sense to leave it open. And we would never use a formal dining room — we just don't entertain that way." The exterior brick is painted khaki, a signature Wells Design color, which also provides the kind of warmth Jean- mard's projects are known for. "I've always wanted a painted brick house, and I'm always trying to talk my clients' husbands into it, but they don't want to paint it again in 10 years," Jeanmard says with a laugh. "I'm prone to charm, and painted brick has a lot of charm. Lauren diCioccio's Steinbeck and Film, purchased from Jack Fischer Gallery, is a found book with embroidered letters. Wire-and wood-bug from Deyrolle in Paris. In the entry, a collage of millinery leaves by Houston artist Gary Retherford, circa 2000. 67